WASHINGTON –– After the devastating
tornado in Moore and Oklahoma City, the
Internal Revenue Service has provided tax relief to individuals and businesses
affected by this and other severe storms occurring in parts of Oklahoma.
Following the recent disaster
declaration for individual assistance issued by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, the IRS announced that affected taxpayers in Cleveland,
Lincoln, McClain, Oklahoma and Pottawatomie counties will receive special tax
relief. Other locations may be added in coming days based on additional damage
assessments by FEMA.
The tax relief postpones various
tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred starting on May 18, 2013. As a
result, affected individuals and businesses will have until Sept. 30, 2013 to
file these returns and pay any taxes due. This includes the June 17 and Sept.
16 deadlines for making estimated tax payments. A variety of business tax
deadlines are also affected including the July 31 deadline for second quarter
payroll and excise tax returns and the Sept. 3 deadline for truckers filing
highway use tax returns.
The IRS will abate any interest,
late-payment or late-filing penalty that would otherwise apply. The agency
automatically provides this relief to any taxpayer located in the disaster
area. Taxpayers need not contact the IRS to get this relief.
Beyond the relief provided to
taxpayers in the FEMA-designated counties, the IRS will work with any taxpayer
who lives outside the disaster area but whose books, records or tax
professional are located in the areas affected by these storms. All workers
assisting the relief activities who are affiliated with a recognized government
or philanthropic organization also qualify for relief. Taxpayers qualifying for
relief who live outside the disaster area need to contact the IRS at
866-562-5227.
Individuals and businesses who
suffered uninsured or unreimbursed disaster-related losses can choose to claim
them on either last year’s or this year’s return. Claiming these casualty loss
deductions on either an original or amended 2012 return will get the taxpayer
an earlier refund but waiting to claim them on a 2013 return could result in
greater tax savings depending upon other income factors.
In addition, the IRS is waiving
failure-to-deposit penalties for federal payroll and excise tax deposits
normally due on or after May 18 and before June 3 if the deposits are made by
June 3, 2013. Details on available relief can be found on the disaster relief
page on IRS.gov.
The tax relief is part of a
coordinated federal response to the damage caused by these storms and is based
on local damage assessments by FEMA. For information on disaster recovery,
visit disasterassistance.gov.
The IRS is actively monitoring
the situation and will provide additional relief if needed.